The Pumpkin King
by gryffingirl77
Summary: Chapter 18 up! Who is Jack Skellington and how did he become the Pumpkin King? My take on Jack Skellington
1. The Beginning

A/N: Hi all. This is my story about Jack Skellington and my take on how he came to be the Pumpkin King. Please review and tell me what you think! Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own TNBC, it belongs to the brilliant Tim Burton. I do own Jack and Sally Christmas stockings, though.

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It's not easy growing up with a name like Jack Skellington. It's especially difficult when you happen to be extremely tall, very skinny and somewhat clumsy. And when you add shy and awkward to the mix, well then, growing up with a name like Jack Skellington can be downright awful.

Jack Ryan Skellington knew this firsthand, as his name was Jack Skellington and he had the unfortunate luck of having all of the mentioned traits. He was extremely tall, very skinny, clumsy, awkward and shy. Of course he was prone to such nicknames as 'Skeleton boy' and 'Jack Skeleton'.

Jack Skellington was a loner. Not by his own choice, he was actually a really friendly guy, but his overwhelming shyness, as well as his self-consciousness about his looks, caused him to be shunned by the popular group, the so-called normal group of kids that snubbed Jack because he was different.

It wasn't Jack's fault that he was tall and skinny and shy. It wasn't his fault that his parents didn't have very much money and he had to wear clothes that the popular kids thought were weird. Jack had a mop of unruly black hair that never seemed to want to stay where Jack wanted it, but rather stuck up all over his head even when he just combed it.

But things were how they were and Jack had to suffer the consequences.

Jack's best friend was his dog, Zero. Zero was a little white mutt that Jack found one day when he was walking home from school. The dog was being chased by some kids, the same kids that teased Jack. They were throwing rocks at the dog and every so often one would hit the dog and he would yelp.

Jack was just walking along, minding his own business when the little white dog ran full tilt towards him. Jack jumped out of the way, tripped over the scared dog, and fell face first onto the ground.

The kids that were chasing the dog stood in front of Jack, who was clumsily trying to stand up, the little dog trying to hide behind his skinny legs.

"Hey, look, the Skeleton has a friend," one of the boys, Ralph, said, laughing.

"Yeah, it's the only friend he'll ever have," said another boy whose name way Kyle.

"He's such a loser! Skeleton Jack, he's a nothing," said Betty, Ralph's sister.

Then they laughed, Kyle kicking some dirt at them as he walked away.

Jack looked down at the little dog who was now sitting on Jack's foot, tail wagging.

"Well, boy," Jack said. "I'm glad that at least they're not throwing rocks at you anymore."

Jack reached down and picked up the dog and studied him thoughtfully. The dog was skinny and had long legs and long ears and a pointed little nose. As Jack looked at him the dog reached up and licked his cheek and Jack's skinny face broke into a smile.

"Well, Zero," Jack said. Somehow the name just seemed to fit. "Why don't you come home with me?"

From that moment on Zero was Jack's best friend. The dog followed him everywhere. Jack talked to him like he was a person, and Zero even seemed to understand him.

The one time of year when Jack felt 'normal' was Halloween. It was by far his favorite holiday. After all, other than Halloween when could one dress up however they wished, act however they wanted, and not be snubbed or teased because of it? Halloween was a great holiday, in Jack's opinion, and year after year he worked at making each years costume the best ever. He had a different theme every year and went to great lengths putting painstaking details into his costume. The year he was a scarecrow he patched his rattiest jeans, got a bale of hay and stuffed the costume with real straw. The year he was a pirate he actually pierced his ear to have a real earring. He was twelve at the time and his mother was not happy about it.

Halloween was the one time of year when Jack was not shy and awkward. When he was wearing a costume it was as if he were a different person. He was confident. He stood up straight, not embarrassed about his height. He acted the part of whatever character he was portraying and no one would have ever guessed that it was Jack Skellington behind whatever costume he was wearing.

After he found Zero Jack always made sure that Zero was part of his Halloween theme. When he was deciding what costume he would wear that year, what theme he would have that Halloween, he always made sure Zero was a part of it.

Jack was still a loner, and he still had no friends. But he had Zero.

((to be continued. please review, thanks!))


	2. The End But Not Really

**A/N:** Hey, thanks to Screwydame (where'd your CJ fic go???) and Dream Unbeing for your lovely reviews! I'm glad you like it! :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own NBC, that honour belongs to the wonderful Tim Burton. I do own a Sally Musical Jewelry box though. Oh, and a stuffed Zero who was the inspiration behind this! :-P

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When Jack graduated from high school he was more than happy to be done with school. He hoped that once he was away from school and the kids that always judged him that he would be able to have a normal life.

But Jack always stuck out, both because he was so tall and because he was so skinny. And he never seemed to be able to overcome his shyness and self-consciousness.

He got a good job as a computer programmer, bought a little house where he lived with Zero. He was lonely, but he had a good life.

Halloween continued to be his favorite time of year. Once he had a house of his own he made up elaborate decorations for his yard. He dressed up in elaborate costumes and scared all the neighborhood kids. Each year he did his best to outdo the year before, getting progressively scarier and scarier. The kids all loved it and every year, for one day at least, Jack could be himself.

And then, when Jack was just twenty-five years old the unthinkable happened.

It was Halloween Eve and Jack was excited. His costume was almost ready and Zero's too. He just had to put on the finishing touches.

As a nod to the many times he had been teased growing up, to all the times he'd been called Jack Skeleton, Jack decided that that year he was going to be…a skeleton. He had worked for days to create a perfect outfit, which consisted of a black suit with white pinstripes. He fashioned a bowtie shaped like a bat with its wings spread. He even had skeleton gloves for his hands.

For Zero, a white sheet. Zero was going to be a ghost. Not particularly original, but Jack couldn't quite figure out how to make a skeleton costume for the dog.

The night before Halloween Jack had one last thing to buy for his costume. An elaborate skeleton mask, which would complete his outfit. He had to drive all the way across town for it, but it would be well worth it he knew. The mask was custom made and scarier than anything he'd ever worn before.

Jack put the pinstriped suit on, wanting to try the mask on with the costume before he bought it. He tied on his bat bowtie, slipped on his skeleton gloves and looked at his reflection in the mirror.

He grinned widely. The costume fit his tall, thin frame perfectly, and the gloves were a nice touch. The mask would make the costume perfect.

Jack let out with a laugh, his most spine-tingling, eerie laugh. Zero barked happily. Zero was wearing his sheet and looking quite ghost-like.

He put Zero into his car, an ancient clunker that barely ran, and started the drive across town to the costume shop.

He walked into the shop with Zero in tow. The man at the counter let out a laugh when he saw Jack. They knew each other well, since Jack was so into Halloween he spent a lot of time, and money, in the shop.

The man went into a back room and returned with a large box which he set on the counter. Jack opened up the box and pulled out a giant white skull. Grinning, Jack slipped the skull over his head and the shopkeeper let out with a low whistle.

"You'll scare those neighbor kids to death for sure with that!"

Jack laughed. As always, being in costume brought him out of his shell. "That's the point, my friend," Jack said. He glanced at his reflection in a large mirror and grinned behind the mask. The costume was perfect, it was exactly what he'd envisioned.

Thoughts of the many ways he'd scare the neighborhood kids ran through his head as he paid for the skull, bid farewell to the shopkeeper and went back to his car.

He placed the mask carefully in the backseat and placed Zero up front in the passenger seat.

In a hurry to get home and finish decorating his front porch, Jack decided that he would take a shortcut home. He cut through an industrial area and it wasn't long before he was lost.

"Well, Zero. You'd think I'd know where I was going before I decided to just go," Jack said, peering at a street sign as he drove slowly past, trying to figure out what direction he was going.

"I think we just have to go over these train tracks, Zero, and we'll be on our way," Jack said.

The train crossing sign was dark as Jack started to drive over the four rows of train tracks. Jack didn't know it, of course, but the crossing sign was broken.

He was halfway across when the car sputtered and died, leaving him stuck in the middle of the railroad crossing.

Jack sighed heavily and muttered a curse as he tried to start the car.

It wouldn't start.

Jack sighed again. He wasn't good with cars. There was little chance that he'd be able to get the thing started. And of course, he must have left his cell phone at his house because it wasn't clipped to his belt like it usually was.

Jack decided to get out and try to push the car off the tracks, then he could walk to a gas station and call a tow truck.

He had just put his skeleton-gloved hand on the door when he heard the horrible, eerie sound of a train whistle. It was close, very close.

Jack yanked on the door handle, which made a snapping noise and came off in his hand.

Panicked, Jack looked up. He saw the bright white light of the train, coming straight at him. He barely had time to lean over, trying to open the passenger door to let Zero out, when there was a loud crash, a bright, blinding light….and then all was dark.

((please please review!!))


	3. The Cemetery

A/N: Hugz and thanx to ladybirdbuzz1, a-little-angel, screwydame, AshleytheStrange and hyper monkeyfor your reviews!! I really appreciate the feedback!!! Screwydame-I figured after reading your CJ fic that you were a NBC fan too! :)

As far as how far this story will take us, I haven't quite figured out. Most likely up to NBC, but no further than that.

Disclaimer: I do not own NBC. Tim Burton, the genius, does. All I own is a statue of Jack, Sally and Zero. :) Oh, and a bunch of other NBC stuff too, cuz I'm obsessed….possessed, something…..

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Jack had a headache. His head was pounding and he had a sharp pain in between his eyes, like someone was trying to drive an ice pick into his skull.

He groaned and tried to sit up, but he couldn't. He was surrounded, on all sides. But as he opened up his eyes, he realized he was in complete darkness, in a tiny enclosed space.

Nearing panic, he reached out with his hands, but he didn't touch anything. Rather, he had the strangest feeling in his fingers, pressure and damp and cold.

Jack pushed himself up and, with a feeling like swimming through quicksand, he felt a sudden change, saw a light, and suddenly he was pulling himself out of the ground.

Out of the ground? What on earth…?

Jack looked around. He was in a cemetery, that much was clear. It was a crisp, clear night. A full moon hung suspended in an inky black sky. Brilliant pinpricks of stars filled the sky, twinkling above him as he looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

He looked down and saw a headstone. Jack leaned over and read it.

"_Jack Ryan Skellington. Died October 30, Rest in Peace."_

Jack froze, staring in disbelief at the headstone. He blinked a few times and looked back at it.

It was still there, and it still said his name.

"What is going on?" he murmured, looking around.

He recognized the cemetery. It was the one where his grandparents had been buried years ago. Sure enough, he looked over and saw the headstone engraved with his grandparent's name.

Suddenly memory came rushing back, hitting him full force…

"Like a freight train," Jack whispered.

He remembered the train crossing. He remembered the door handle breaking. He remembered reaching for the passenger door, hoping he could at least save Zero.

Then he remembered the blinding flash of light, the deafening crash.

His car had been hit by a train. _He_ had been hit by a train.

You didn't get hit by a train and live, he thought.

He was looking at his own headstone.

Jack glanced down at himself and saw…nothing.

He held up a hand, waved it in front of his face.

Nothing.

He wasn't there. He could feel his body, he could feel his hand, waving in front of his face, but there was nothing there.

He began laughing insanely. He was a ghost. Jack Skellington had died and now he was a ghost. A vapory, invisible ghost.

"You'd think if I had to go and die, the least I could have done was be something scary," he grumbled.

He was taking his death quite calmly. Maybe it was his obsession with Halloween. Maybe it was the fact that he was a ghost. Whatever it was, he wasn't freaking out like most people would do when they found themselves reduced to vapor in a graveyard.

He thought quite seriously that maybe he had just gone insane. Finally gone off the deep end, so to speak.

But something in the back of his mind told him that this was no delusion. He was dead, he was a ghost, and he had no idea what to do about it.

He started walking through the cemetery. He wasn't sure what he was looking for. Maybe another dead person that could tell him what was going on. Maybe a vampire or a witch. After all, if he was a ghost who was to say that there weren't witches and vampires?

He was trudging through the cemetery when he heard it.

A bark, coming from the woods beyond the cemetery.

"Zero?" Jack whispered. There was another bark, this one louder.

"Zero!" Jack called. "Come here, boy!"

The barking grew frantic and Jack ran to the woods. He wound his way through the trees and skidded to a halt. He was in the middle of a clearing.

He just started to look around when the barking grew louder and suddenly a glowing white blur shot straight at him from the woods.

It went straight through him, giving him the strangest feeling in his stomach. Do ghosts have stomachs, he wondered?

He whirled around and saw the white blur. It was zipping around excitedly, barking here and there for good measure.

"Zero, is that you?"

The white blur came to a stop in front of him and Jack's jaw dropped in disbelief.

It was Zero, all right. Zero's ghost, that is.

The little white dog was now a little white ghost dog. He had a vapory white body, like a sheet, which curled at the end like a tail. He didn't have feet, just the sheet-like body. He still had his long, pointy nose and long floppy ears which now floated behind him. His eyes were big and black. And the end of his nose, which had been pinkish black in life, was now…orange?

Jack squinted his eyes. Zero's nose was a jack o'lantern!

Feeling more than a little bewildered by everything Jack took a deep breath, trying to sort things out. Apparently even though Jack couldn't see himself, Zero could him. The ghost dog floated to a stop in front of Jack's face, panting excitedly. He yapped a few times for good measure and did some backwards flips in the air. Jack reached out an invisible hand and stroked Zero's head. The ghost dog wriggled with pleasure and barked again.

Just when it seemed like things couldn't get any weirder Jack glanced around at the trees that surrounded the clearing. They had seemed like normal trees at first, but as he looked at one of them the outline of a jack o'lantern suddenly appeared on the bark. It was faint at first, but quickly grew more defined. Jack stared at the orange jack o'lantern and it was as if the rest of the trees, the entire forest, in fact, disappeared. It was just he and Zero and the jack o'lantern tree.

Cautiously Jack reached out a ghostly hand and lightly touched the pumpkin on the tree. He saw what looked like a doorknob and twisted it. Curiosity burned inside of him. What was behind the pumpkin door, he wondered? He gave the door a yank but it didn't budge. He yanked harder. Still nothing. Zero barked and Jack glanced over at the dog, who pushed his nose against the door.

With a creak and a squeal the door swung in. Jack took a cautious step inside the door. There was what seemed to be a long, winding staircase. He took another step, then another. Zero followed him inside and the door swung shut with a bang. When Jack looked back the door was gone. At the top of the steps was a blank wall.

More than a little uneasy now, Jack took another step down the spiral staircase, wondering where he was going….

((please review and let me know what you think!! thanks!!!!!))


	4. The Pumpkin Patch

**A/N:** Hi! Big thanks to: ladybirdbuzz1 & screwydame for your wonderful reviews! I appreciate them, as do my muses! (they're fussy, they like reviews)

Oh and if I don't get another update in before then, Happy Christmas to all!! I don't know about you, but I'll be waiting for Jack to drop of a demonic toy or a man-eating wreath! I could really go off about how much I would appreciate a **_man_**-eating wreath right now, but I'll spare ya! :-P

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own NBC. Tim Burton still does. sigh But I did buy myself an awesome Sally shirt yesterday!! :-)

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The staircase wound around for what seemed like forever. The only light came from ghost-Zero's glow. The staircase he was walking along was dark, dank and musty. The stones were dark grey and covered with moss. It was definitely creepy and had Jack not been the Halloween nut that he was, he would probably have been scared out of his wits by then.

As it was, he was definitely uneasy. Not that he didn't have plenty of reasons to feel uneasy. After all, he was dead. And a ghost.

Not to mention the weird tree and the creepy staircase.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and found a tunnel. Using Zero as his flashlight he made his way along the damp and creepy tunnel, stopping short when he came to another door. This one didn't have a pumpkin on it, but he definitely got a creepy feeling from it. His hair, had he had any, would have been standing on end.

Jack stared at the doorknob jutting from the heavy looking wood door. He reached out with his invisible hand and turned the doorknob.

The air that hit him was warm and heavy. A light mist creeped into the hallway. Jack felt suddenly lightheaded and for the second time he was overtaken by darkness.

Xxx

When Jack woke up again he wasn't sure what he should expect. The last time he'd been in a grave, so he figured that not much would surprise him at that point.

He shook his head and sat up.

He felt…weird. Of course, he was dead so maybe that was to be expected. But over and above that he felt weirder than he had before….before what? What had happened?

Jack felt like his mind was in slow-motion. He was trying to remember…something. Something that had happened. But he just felt…blank. Empty.

There was a nudge against his leg and he looked down to see Zero nudging his leg which was clad in a pair of black pants with white pinstripes.

His leg? Wait, that brought something back…Oh yeah, he was dead, he was a ghost, and he had been invisible. But now he was looking down at what he hoped was his leg. He moved it and the leg moved. That had to be a good sign.

He held a hand in front of his face and gasped and scrambled backward when a bony skeleton hand waved in front of his face.

Wait a minute. Wait a minute, he thought. He glanced down at his legs and realized something. Yes, he had always been skinny but the legs that he thought were his were _too_ skinny. Abnormally skinny. _Skeletally_ skinny.

He was starting to get a really funny feeling. He wiggled his legs and the skinny legs wiggled. He waved both hands in front of his face and a pair of skeletal hands waved. They were attached to a body which was attached to the legs.

He pulled up his pant leg and a there was just a bone. A skeleton leg.

"What is going on, Zero?" he asked the little ghost dog as he carefully stood up. Everything seemed to be working.

He was a skeleton. He, Jack Skellington, was a skeleton. A walking, talking skeleton. How ironic, he thought.

The fuzzy feeling in his mind was still there and when he tried to remember what had happened before he had died, he couldn't really remember anything. Other than that he knew he liked Halloween and that he had been coming home from buying his skeleton mask when his car had been hit by the train.

Other than that, he couldn't remember anything. It was like looking at a blank wall. There was nothing there.

He shook his head and looked around for the first time.

He was in the middle of a pumpkin patch. He looked around and saw hundreds of pumpkins lying about. He bent over and looked closer at a large pumpkin by his foot and saw that it wasn't just a pumpkin. It was a carved jack o'lantern that was growing on a vine just like a regular pumpkin.

The sky was grey, the clouds were grey. A pale yellow moon peeked out from behind the clouds. Everything seemed slightly hazy and he thought something seemed wrong. Then he realized that all of the colors around him were muted. He vaguely remembered that colors weren't supposed to look like that, they were different. But he couldn't really remember what exactly what they were _supposed_ to look like.

He shook his head again and took a cautious step. His body felt light, free. He felt like he could do cartwheels and backflips. He still wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but he realized that as contradictory as it seemed, now that he was dead, he felt great!

"Let's go look around, what do you say, Zero?" Jack asked the dog who yipped happily and floated along beside Jack as he walked through the jack o'lantern patch. The orange pumpkins were the only splash of color as far as he could see. Everything else seemed to be some sort of shade of black, grey or brown.

Jack noticed a little pool of water and walked over to it. Cautiously, not knowing what to expect, he leaned over, hoping to catch a glimpse of his reflection.

A bright white skeleton face peered out at him from the murky water. Interesting, he thought. He had big deep eye sockets and a wide mouth. He squinted and the reflection squinted back. He grinned and the reflection grinned back, showing a wide, toothy grin.

He tried out a bunch of different facial expressions and was pleased with the results. His glare was fearsome and his sneer downright wicked. He let out with a laugh. While he had been alive his laugh had been eerie, but as a skeleton it was terrifying.

Satisfied, he straightened up and turned in a circle to survey his surroundings. The first thing he saw was a funny shaped hill. It came up like a wave and the end curled under. He tilted his head, looking at it. He wondered if he could see anything else from up there, so he walked around and walked up to the top of the hill. Zero floated along behind him.

When he got to the top of the hill Jack stopped and looked around. Off in the distance he could see what looked like a town. There was a graveyard at the edge of town below the hill. The jack o'lantern patch was behind him and a dark, eerie forest lined the edge of the jack o'lantern patch.

"Where do you think we are, Zero?" Jack murmured. He squinted in the direction of the town. The buildings seemed ramshackle and everything seemed to be made of the same dingy grey bricks.

Then Jack turned and looked in the direction of the forest. He had a vague memory of a forest and some kind of tree, but the more he tried to think about it the more the memory evaded him.

He took a step towards the edge of the hill, straining to see anything familiar.

There was a sudden lurch beneath his feet that almost sent Jack tumbling over the edge. He scrambled backwards and somehow managed to keep his balance. He looked down and saw that the edge of the strange shaped hill, the part that curled under, was uncurling beneath his feet, making a little ramp to the jack o'lantern patch below.

Jack grinned and walked carefully down the ramp. He noticed something as he walked.

For the first time in his life, or perhaps more accurately, for the first time in his _after_life, Jack didn't feel awkward and clumsy. It was a great feeling.

Zero floated behind him, curiously watching the hill uncurl beneath Jack's feet.

When Jack reached the bottom he stepped off of the ramp and the edge of the hill curled itself back up. Jack watched it, fascinated.

"What do you say we go to that town, Zero? Maybe they can tell us where we are."

Zero yapped and did a little somersault in mid-air as Jack made his way across the jack o'lantern patch and headed in the direction of the little town.

(( Well, what did you think? Please review and let me know. Me and my muses will love ya! ))


	5. Sally

**A/N:** Hi everyone! I hope you had a great Christmas! I got the most awesome Jack Skellington shirt!!!

Big thanks out to: screwydame, hypermonkey, ladybirdbuzz1, nergaljuniorlover, Spinder-UndeadBallerina & skeleton doll for your reviews!!! I appreciate them soo much!!

**Disclaimer:** I still do not own NBC, darn it.

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At the edge of town stood a building with a tall tower. From a window in the top of the tower a length of rope, with a basket tied to the end, was being lowered.

A girl with long red hair made of yarn peered out the window. The girl, whose name was Sally, was really a sewn-together rag doll. She was lowering the rope, glancing nervously behind her every few seconds.

When the basket finally touched the ground the girl gave a quick grin and disappeared back into the room.

She quickly tied the rope to a pillar that stood in the center of the room. She knotted it several times and then pulled with all of her strength. Satisfied that the rope was tied tight enough Sally tucked a spool of thread into the pocket of her patchwork dress, tucked a needle behind her ear and climbed over the edge of the window. She lowered herself quickly down the rope. When she reached the ground she quickly untied the thread that held her hand onto her arm. The hand, moving on its own, made its way quickly back up the rope and disappeared into the open window. A minute later the rope fell from the window, pooling at Sally's feet.

Then the hand appeared on the windowsill. It gave a quick thumbs up and then launched itself out the window.

Sally caught her left hand with her right one. She sat down, cradling her hand in her lap as she pulled the needle from behind her ear. She threaded the needle and quickly sewed her hand back on. Then she tucked the needle behind her ear, stood up and quickly untied the basket and then gathered the rope. She hid the rope behind a bedraggled bush. As she was hiding it there was a rustle in the bush and she froze, her eyes wide.

"Meow?"

Sally breathed a sigh of relief as she saw her black cat, Isis, slink out from behind the bush. "Oh, Isis, you scared me," she whispered. "Come here," she said and picked the cat up. She put the cat into the basket and ran quickly away from the tower, her footsteps almost silent on the cold, grey pavement.

Once she was out of sight of the tower she smiled and relaxed. She walked slowly through town, saying hello to the few people she knew. She even caught sight of the Mayor, who was motoring through town in his little car, a big, almost manic, grin on his face. He waved at the passers-by and Sally waved back.

She loved coming into town. But she rarely had a chance to.

After she had strolled through town she walked toward the edge of town. She was going to the graveyard.

Sally had planted herself a little garden at the edge of the graveyard. Her stock was almost depleted so she had to gather some more plants and flowers.

Humming a little under her breath Sally walked to the graveyard. She passed the street musicians that always sat at the edge of town. They were playing a dreary sounding song. Sally dug through her pockets and pulled out a coin. She tossed it into the hat that sat in front of the band. The sax player, who was also the leader of the little band, stopped playing and gave Sally a nod.

"Thanks, doll," he said.

Sally smiled and continued walking. She got to the graveyard and opened the tall iron gate. She slipped through and walked quickly to her little garden.

Crudely made signs marked the different plants in the garden. She took Isis out of the basket and knelt down in the soft soil. She plucked a handful of wolfs bane, a bunch of poison ivy and a big clump of deadly nightshade. Lastly she picked several oleanders, which she didn't use for her potions. She just liked how they smelled.

She was placing the plants into the basket when she heard barking. She blinked and stood up. She didn't remember ever having seen a dog in town. The only canine she knew of was the Wolfman, but he didn't bark like a dog.

She crept through the graveyard, ducking behind headstones and hiding behind trees. She heard the barking again, closer this time.

Then she heard a voice, which made her stop right where she was standing.

"Look, Zero! It's your headstone!"

The voice was unfamiliar. Sally was sure if she had heard the voice before she would have remembered it. She still couldn't see who was talking though. Cautious and trying not to be seen, Sally crept closer to where the voice seemed to be coming from.

She slunk behind a particularly tall headstone, heart pounding. She peered around the granite headstone and saw a tall, thin figure with his back to her. She was mesmerised by the sound of the voice and the mysterious figure.

She felt something brush against her leg and she jumped. Sally looked down and saw Isis rubbing along her leg.

Sally gave a relieved sigh and laughed at herself for being so jumpy.

Suddenly the cat froze. Sally turned and looked behind her and saw the misty white shape of a ghostly dog. It had a glowing orange jack o'lantern as a nose and it was watching Sally and Isis. Suddenly the dog barked loudly and zoomed towards Isis, who arched her back and hissed before she ran off back towards the direction of town.

"Zero!" the man called. "What are you barking at? Where are you going? Zero, get back here!"

Sally ducked behind the headstone as the man ran past her, chasing the ghost dog, which she assumed was Zero.

Sally stood up as the figure raced past and she caught a glimpse of a black suit with white pinstripes and the bony fingers and skull head of a skeleton man.

She stared, fascinated, as the man chased after the dog, who was still chasing Isis.

Who was this skeleton man? She was certain that he was new in town, and newcomers were quite rare in Halloweentown.

Quietly she followed the skeleton man, hoping to get a closer look.

((well? What did you think?? Please review and let me know!!!))


	6. Halloweenland

**A/N**: Hi everyone! Big thanks out to: screwydame, SKC, IrishTomboy06, ladybirdbuzz1, Skeletondoll, hyper monkey and Nautikus for your reviews. They are greatly appreciated!!!!

**Disclaimer**: Alas, I do not own NBC or Jack or Sally. sigh Too bad, huh? But I do own a very nice Sally musical Jewelry box that plays Sally's Song…..

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Jack ran after Zero, calling the dog, but Zero was too intent on chasing the black cat to listen.

They reached the edge of the cemetery and the cat suddenly ran up a tree, digging its claws into the bark as it climbed to the topmost branch.

Zero started to float up after it when Jack roared, "ZERO, leave that cat alone!"

The sheer volume of his voice stopped Zero in mid-float. The ghost dogs ears flattened out as he looked guiltily at Jack.

Jack sighed heavily and stared up at the cat, who was clinging to the branch looking terrified. "Look what you did, Zero," Jack said.

Zero slunk away and hid behind a nearby tree.

Scratching his bony chin thoughtfully Jack watched the cat as it tried to climb down, got scared and clung to the branch, yowling.

With a sigh Jack started to climb up the tree, figuring that was the only way to get the cat down. He felt responsible for it since it was his dog that scared it up there in the first place.

Jack scrambled up the trunk of the barren tree. He reached the top and stretched a bony hand towards the cat. The cat glared at him and zipped back down the tree and ran in the direction of the town.

Shaking his head Jack backed down the tree. He reached the bottom branch and was just about to jump down when a worried voice said, "Oh, what are you doing up there?"

Jack jumped, startled and toppled out of the tree, crashing to the ground beneath the tree.

Zero zipped from behind the tree and floated around Jack's face barking worriedly.

Jack sat up, rubbing the back of his head. He looked around, trying to find the owner of the voice that had startled him. There was no one there.

"I know I heard a voice," Jack murmured and he got to his feet. He looked around. Out of the corner of his eye he saw someone duck behind a tree.

"Who's there?" Jack called.

Suddenly a head popped around the edge of the tree. It was a girl from what he could tell. A girl with long red hair that looked suspiciously like…yarn?

"Hi," Jack said. "What are you doing?"

"Are you okay?" the girl asked. Her voice was soft and sweet.

"Yes, I'm fine," Jack replied, peering at the girl. "What are you doing behind that tree?"

The girl shrugged and stepped out from behind the tree.

Jack was startled. The girl was a….rag doll. She wore a patchwork dress, black and white striped stockings and little black shoes. But she was sewn together. As he took a step towards her he saw that she had stitches on her arms and legs and across her face. On her elbow he could see what looked like dried leaves and straw where the stitches were loose. Her red hair was indeed yarn. She had big eyes framed by long lashes.

She looked shyly up at Jack and he was immediately self-conscious. After all, he was a skeleton. But she didn't seem repulsed or scared so Jack gave her a tentative smile.

"I'm Jack, Jack Skellington," Jack said, holding out his hand. Sally shook his bony hand, smiling.

"My name is Sally," she said softly. "You're new here, aren't you?" Sally asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Jack said. He wondered if it was that obvious.

"I've never seen you or your dog around," Sally replied.

Zero barked as he floated in front of Sally. "This is Zero," Jack said.

Sally grinned as she patted Zero on the head. "Hi, Zero," she said and Zero did a little backflip.

"Sally, maybe you can tell me," Jack said. "Where am I?"

Sally looked startled. "Why, you're in Halloweenland."

"Halloweenland?" Jack repeated. "Is that the name of that town?" he asked, pointing his bony finger towards the town.

"Oh, no. That's Halloweentown," she said matter-of-factly.

"Halloweentown?"

Sally looked at him and pressed her lips together. "Where are you from, Jack?"

"I…I don't really know," he said. "You see, I died. Zero and me, we were in this accident and we both died. And then I was a ghost and then I saw this tree and the tree opened up and I went through this tunnel and there was another door and it opened up and I blacked out. When I came to I was in the middle of that pumpkin patch. I can't remember anything else!"

Sally stared at him, wide-eyed. "You're from the Real World then."

"Real World?" Jack repeated.

"Yes. We don't get many people from the Real World."

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked, frustrated. "I don't understand!"

"Here, come with me," Sally said. "I'll try to explain."

Jack followed Sally back through the graveyard to her garden. She picked up her basket and began walking towards town.

"You see, Halloweenland is where Halloween was created. All of us that live here, we're the ones that make Halloween in the Real World," Sally said patiently.

"I don't get it."

Sally sighed. "You know what Halloween is, right?"

"Of course," Jack said, mildly insulted. "It's my favorite holiday."

"Well, all the things that make Halloween…well, Halloween, come from here. Ghosts, goblins, vampires. The creature under your bed. They all live in Halloweentown. And every year for Halloween we, well, make Halloween," Sally said with a little shrug. "We work all year long to make Halloween."

Jack was beginning to understand. "So the citizens of Halloweentown are responsible for all of the things that scare people in the Real World."

"Exactly!" Sally said, smiling.

Jack walked along silently, thinking. Halloweentown. When he'd been alive he'd never have believed it. But now that he was a skeleton he was beginning to realize that_ anything_ seemed possible.

And suddenly Jack felt a rush of excitement. He was in Halloweenland. Halloween was his favorite holiday.

Somehow Jack thought that he would fit in just fine in this Halloweentown.

((well, what did you think? please review and let me know!!! Thank you!!!))


	7. Welcome to Halloweentown

A/N: Hi everyone! Big hugs and thanks to: screwydame, hyper monkey, ladybirdbuzz1 & Katherine Diethel y Diego for your wonderful reviews. Screwydame, you flatter me, really!! blushes Thank you so much for your compliments!

Here is Chapter 7, in which Jack first sees Halloweentown. I hope I did okay with my descriptions of the town, I may go back and change it after I get the DVD. It's way too hard to find specific scenes with a crappy VHS tape. Let me know, okay??

Disclaimer: I do not own NBC or Jack or Sally. The Halloweentown creatures names are my own, though. I hope they're okay, it's pretty hard to come up with fitting names!! If you have suggestions, please let me know!!

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Jack and Sally walked along in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Zero floated behind them, stopping every once in a while to sniff at something interesting.

Jack was thinking about the whole Halloweenland thing. He was definitely intrigued. Sally had mentioned ghosts and goblins and the creature that lived under your bed. What else was there in Halloweenland? He had a strange feeling deep inside his bones, like he was finally where he belonged.

Sally was thinking about Jack. There were so many things she had to tell him, but she didn't quite know how.

She had overheard Dr. Finklestein talking to Damon, one of the vampires, one day. He said that the reason that there were hardly any people from the Real World in Halloweenland was because people were starting to not believe in Halloween anymore. Things just didn't scare them the way they used to. Dr. Finklestein thought that they needed to do something; they needed something new to spice up Halloween and get people scared again.

Sally _also_ knew why Jack was having a hard time remembering things. She knew that whenever someone from the Real World came to Halloweenland they started to lose their memories of their previous life. The more time went by the more they forgot until soon they only remembered their life in Halloweenland. But she didn't quite know how to tell him that, so she didn't. She'd tell him later, when he'd settled in a little bit.

Sally did have to wonder_ why_ Jack had ended up in Halloweenland. She knew that it was rare, that people hardly ever ended up here. From what she knew, a person had to have true Halloween Spirit for them to be allowed in. Studying the tall Skeleton man she found it somewhat hard to believe that he was really a scary kind of guy. He seemed nice, not scary. He didn't seem like he would fit in, other than that he was a skeleton.

Sally herself didn't fit in Halloweentown. She was neither a long time residence nor someone from the Real World that had ended up here. Dr. Finklestein had made Sally, created her to be his personal servant. Since he'd been unable to keep help so he had decided to just create one, and Sally had been the result.

What Dr. Finklestein hadn't planned on was that Sally would have a mind of her own and wouldn't be content just being his servant. Consequently, almost everyday she concocted an elaborate plan to make her escape.

Unfortunately for her Halloweentown was not that big of a place and she never got far before the Doctor found her. Not to mention, she didn't really have anywhere to go. But at least she got away from the doctor for a while.

By that time Sally and Jack had reached the town. They were walking along a crooked

cobblestone road that led to a tall slanted gate. There was a low stone fence that circled Halloweentown. Jack noticed a tall tree just outside the gate. He didn't remember it being there when he had looked at the town from the top of the hill. The tree was so big he didn't think he would have been able to miss it. Not to mention the fact that there were five skeletons hanging by hangman's nooses on the branches.

"Hi Sally," the tree said suddenly and Jack gasped.

"Hi Sally," said the five hanging skeletons.

"Oh, hello Gallow," Sally said. "Hi boys. This is Jack Skellington, he's new here."

"Hi Jack," chorused the tree and the five skeletons.

"Hello," Jack said, covering up how startled he was.

The tree (and the five skeletons) gave a little nod and then the tree made its way slowly along the path, towards the graveyard.

Jack watched it go, his mouth hanging open.

Before they went through the gate Sally turned to Jack and looked at him speculatively.

"What?" Jack said.

"The citizens of Halloweentown are great people," Sally said. "But it's their job to be scary."

Jack looked at her, confused. "Uh…what are you getting at?"

Switching tactics, Sally said, "Jack, can you be scary?"

Realization dawned as Jack figured out where Sally was coming from. The citizens of Halloweentown made their living, so to speak, scaring people. If he had any hope of fitting in, he had to show them that he was their equal, not one of their victims.

Could he be scary? Jack had spent his entire life perfecting the art of being scary. He had often thought he would have made a great actor. Now it was time to put those skills to the test. It was no different than when he had been in costume in the Real World. No one here in Halloweentown knew him; he could be whatever he wanted to be.

And what he wanted to be was himself, the Jack that he had always wanted to be when he was alive.

Could he be scary? Now that he was dead, and a skeleton no less, he had a feeling that it brought a whole new level to how scary he could be.

He narrowed his eyes.

Then he made the scariest face he could and let out with a blood curdling scream, followed by his spine-tingling laugh.

Zero froze in mid-air and then ducked behind a nearby tree. A crow flying overhead dropped from the sky, dead from fright. Jack grinned and rubbed his bony hands together, pretty confident that he could be scary.

Sally's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "That was _horrible!_" she said.

Jack deflated slightly. "It was?" he said, disappointed.

Then Sally grinned broadly. "Yes, it was perfect!"

Jack sighed with relief. He was obviously going to have to get used to things around Halloweenland. Obviously horrible in Halloweenland didn't mean the same thing as horrible in the Real World.

"Oh, Jack, everyone will be so impressed!" Sally exclaimed. She had never heard such a blood-curdling scream. And that face, it was terrifying! "You'll fit in just fine I think."

"Oh good," Jack said, grinning.

"Come on," Sally said, taking his hand and pulling him towards the gate which creaked upwards upon their approach, almost as if it had seen them coming. Then Jack saw a pair of squinting eyes in the midst of the bricks that arched over the gate and realized it _had_ seen them coming.

Jack followed Sally through the gate, looking around in amazement. A little band sat near the gate, playing a song. The buildings were weird, crazily shaped structures that looked as if a strong wind would flatten them. There were crows and bats flying around. Gargoyles topped the taller buildings and as Jack watched one of them suddenly reached out and grabbed a crow flying by. The gargoyle gave a wicked grin and ate the crow in one gulp.

Cobwebs hung everywhere and spiders and rats crept around all over the place. The whole town was dark and dingy with eerie shadows that darted between the buildings. Jack looked around, looking for any of the Halloweentown citizens, but the only people he saw were the musicians who looked at him with mild curiosity and then continued to play. There was a hat on the ground in front of them and Jack dug through his pockets and pulled out a coin. It had a grinning skull on one side and a jack o'lantern on the other. The words 'Halloweenland, 25 cents' were stamped into the dull copper. Jack flipped the coin and it landed in the hat.

The saxophone played gave him a nod. "Thanks, Bone Daddy," he said and resumed playing a forlorn tune that Jack didn't recognize.

They continued walking along the cobblestone street. Little by little Jack started seeing Halloweentown's citizens. They peered out of buildings as Jack and Sally walked by. They came out to see who this new person was and by the time Sally stopped in the center of town there was quite a crowd gathered behind them.

There was a tall building with a clock and a sign that said "350 days left until Halloween" and a strange looking fountain with a sea serpent sculpture that spewed dark water. Jack looked around at the creatures gathered around him and Sally and fought not to show his alarm.

Sally gave Jack a broad grin. "This is Town Square," she said. "Welcome to Halloweentown, Jack!"

((well, what did you think? Please review and let me know….Keep my muses happy! LOL))


	8. Meeting the Citizens

_**Happy New Year!!!!!!**_

**A/N:** Thank you again to skeletondoll, ladybirdbuzz1 & Irish Tomboy06 for your reviews!!! I appreciate them SOOO much!!

This is a kind of short chapter, but it didn't fit in with the next part, so here it is.

**Disclaimer:** I still do not own NBC, Jack or Sally. But I own a stuffed Scary Teddy!

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Sally watched Jack carefully. If he was at all afraid of the creatures gathered around him, staring at him, he didn't show it. He stood tall, making quite a debonair figure in his pinstriped suit.

The crowd murmured as they gathered around. "Who is that?" asked Hazel, one of the witches.

"I don't know. I've never seen him before," replied Brumhilda, the other witch. They were on their broomsticks above the crowd, staring at the tall skeleton man.

"Mama, who is that?" asked a fat little corpse child whose name was Stan.

"I don't know," the Mama corpse replied, looking at her husband, who shrugged.

"And look, he even has a ghost dog," said a horned Demon, pointing at Zero who was hiding behind Jack, peering out from behind his shoulder.

"Sally, who is this?" asked Ran, who was also known as the Undersea Gal. She was named after Ran, the Norse Goddess of the sea who lured men to their deaths in the ocean. She had popped out of the fountain and was staring, wide-eyed at Jack.

Pretty soon everyone was talking at once, pushing their way to get a closer look at the newcomer to Halloweentown. Sally tried to keep them back but was losing control of the crowd when a loud voice boomed from behind them.

"What is going on here?"

Jack and Sally spun around to the short, squat figure of Halloweentown's Mayor. He was holding his black megaphone and his face was worried, his mouth drawn down in a worried frown. He was wearing a tall black hat and his tie looked uncannily like a black widow spider. He pushed his way through the crowd, who moved back to allow him to come through.

"Oh, Mister Mayor, I have someone to introduce you to," Sally said.

"What's this? Someone new?" the Mayor asked, squinting up at Jack.

"Yes," Sally said. "This is Jack Skellington and his dog, Zero. Jack, this is the Mayor of Halloweentown."

"How…horrible to meet you," Jack said, sticking out his bony hand and hoping that he hadn't just made a huge mistake. Somehow he just didn't think the word 'nice' was heard a lot around Halloweentown.

The Mayor stared up at him and then suddenly his head whirled around, revealing a pleasant, smiling Mayor with a big, manic grin.

Jack was more than a little taken aback by the Mayor's spinning head, but he just kept smiling as the Mayor took his hand and shook it eagerly.

"Oh, and it's horrible to meet you, too, Jack!" the Mayor said grinning. "Oh, and you, too, Zero," he added as the ghost dog floated down to look at the Mayor.

"Jack is from the Real World," Sally added and there was a sudden hush throughout the crowd.

"The Real World? Did you hear that?" Hazel whispered to Brumhilda who nodded, eyes wide.

"The Real World?" the Mayor repeated. "We haven't had anyone from the Real World in _years_!"

The crowd murmured and shuffled closer, pushing Sally out of their way in their eagerness to get a better look at the skeleton man. Jack looked around. The crowd had grown even larger. He saw four caped vampires and a Wolfman in a plaid shirt. There were shimmery ghosts and goblins. There was every sort of creature that Jack had ever heard of, and some that didn't look familiar at all. There was even a demonic looking clown riding a unicycle.

The Mayor held up his megaphone. "Quiet everyone, quiet!" he yelled in his megaphone and the crowd settled down again.

The Mayor looked up at Jack speculatively. "You're from the Real World, are you? I have some questions for you, Mr. Skellington. Come with me," the Mayor said and motioned for Jack to follow him.

Jack looked around for Sally but she was nowhere to be seen. She had disappeared just like that. Feeling more than a little overwhelmed Jack followed the Mayor through the crowd and into the tall clock tower building, Zero following close behind. "Come on, I'll show you to my office," the Mayor said as he opened the door.

Jack looked back. The crowd of Halloweentown citizens was still gathered around, watching him and talking. Jack scanned the crowd for Sally's red head, but couldn't see it. With a sigh he turned and followed the Mayor into the building.

Xxx

"There you are, you wretched girl."

Sally gasped and looked down at the wheelchair-bound figure of Dr. Finkelstein, her creator. He had a tight grip on her arm and he did not look happy.

"Snuck out again, did you? Foolish girl, where did you think you were going to go?" the doctor asked. He kept one hand clasped firmly around Sally's wrist while he maneuvered his electric wheelchair through the crowd. Sally twisted around, trying to see Jack, but the crowd had shoved its way closer, closing in around Jack and the Mayor and Sally couldn't see him.

She sighed resignedly and followed Dr. Finkelstein. Sally looked back at Town Square when they reached the tower, but by then Jack and the Mayor were gone and the crowd was disbursing.

Sally's head dropped as Dr. Finkelstein led her into the house and up the winding stairway that led to her tower room.

When they reached the door Dr. Finkelstein pushed her inside. "I'm tired of your little games, Sally. You're a servant. MY servant. You need to learn to act like it," he said and slammed the door shut with a clang. He locked the door from the outside. "And you can just stay in there until you learn how to behave!" he added as he turned the wheelchair and made his way back down the ramp, muttering under his breath.

Sally sat on the edge of the little cot that was her bed. She looked down at the basket and got up and woodenly began refilling her jars. Then she sat the basket down on the table and walked over to the barred window. She looked out, looking towards Town Square, hoping to catch a glimpse of a tall, thin Skeleton. But there was no one there but a couple of ghouls.

With a sigh Sally went back and sat on the edge of the cot. She rested her elbows on her knees and her head dropped into her hands. Was Jack okay? What did the Mayor want with him?

And would she ever see Jack Skellington again?

((well, what do you think? Please please please review!!! ))


	9. Halloween in the Real World

**Hello all! I apologize for this, but I realized recently that I had posted this story minus a chapter! So I have deleted the rest of the chapters and am adding this one in where it should, and then I will add the rest of the chapters as I edit them.**

Disclaimer: I do not own NBC, but I have an awesome Jack and Sally lamp. :)

So, Jack. You're from the Real World, eh?" the Mayor said as he led Jack into his little office. He took a seat behind a lopsided desk and motioned for Jack to sit in the chair across from him. The chair looked an awful lot like an electric chair, Jack thought somewhat uneasily as he sat down.

"Yeah, that's right," Jack replied.

"Hmm. Don't get many Real Worlders here in Halloweenland anymore," the Mayor said. He was still wearing his grinning face. But as he spoke his head whirled around to reveal the worried face. "Halloween isn't what it used to be, Jack," the Mayor said with a sigh.

"Uh, how's that?" Jack asked.

The Mayor stood up and began pacing around the room. "Halloween used to be a time of fear, of fright. Now it's becoming just a time for kids to dress up and get candy." The Mayor sighed heavily.

Jack looked at him, wondering exactly what the Mayor was trying to tell him.

"We need to do something, Jack," the Mayor said, coming to a halt in front of Jack.

Jack raised an eyebrow, so to speak. "Do something like what?"

"I need for you to tell me what we need to do to make Halloween scary again."

Jack thought about that, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

Jack had spent the better part of his life obsessed with Halloween. Each and every year he had spent months planning that year's Halloween theme. But he had noticed, over the years, that each year he had to do more and more to scare the kids. They were getting jaded, things didn't scare them the way they had scared kids when _he_ was a kid. Of course, things hadn't scared _him_, but he had seen how badly he'd scared the kids his age with his costumes.

The Mayor was right. Halloween was losing its…spirit. It had become a day for kids to get free candy and for adults to go to fashionable parties.

He didn't say it, of course, but he thought that it was because the citizens of Halloweentown weren't doing their jobs. He couldn't remember the last time he's seen a ghost (besides Zero, of course), and as for demons and ghouls and vampires, well, he'd_ never_ seen any of them.

The Mayor sat back down in his chair and sighed again. "The citizens of Halloweentown mean well, Jack, they do, but they just aren't….motivated anymore. They've become lazy, and it shows. I've been Mayor of Halloweentown for almost a hundred years, and for the first time ever, this past Halloween, well, absolutely _no-one _died of fright! Not one person! There were no reports of ghosts or goblins. Not one werewolf sighting. Not a single report of a closet monster attack. I've failed, Jack, failed!" the Mayor moaned, his head dropping onto the desk with a thud.

Jack looked at him in alarm. "Uh," Jack said. "Is that what you guys do on Halloween, kill people?" Jack asked.

The Mayor looked up. "Well, uh, you see that's just a figure of speech," the Mayor said sheepishly. "We don't _kill_ people, just scare them."

Jack gave a relieved sigh. Scaring was one thing. He could do scary. He could do terrifying. But he was pretty sure he couldn't do killing. He was glad to know that he hadn't been wrong about the citizens of Halloweentown. They were a scary bunch, no doubt of that, but none of them had seemed evil, definitely not capable of murder.

"I need your help, Jack. I need you to help me figure out what to do so that Halloween can get its reputation back," the Mayor said, his voice pleading.

"Well," Jack said slowly. "You're right, Halloween hasn't been as scary lately as it used to be."

The Mayor moaned again. "Go on, go on," he said waving his hand weakly when Jack paused.

"I think you need a new approach to Halloween, Mayor."

"A new approach?"

"Yes. Something to get everyone motivated again," Jack said. His mind was working furiously, thinking of all the ways he could get Halloween its reputation back. He'd been scary in real life with only Zero to help him. Here in Halloweenland, with every kind of ghost, ghoul and monster at his disposal, well, the possibilities were endless!

"And you'll help me?" the Mayor asked hesitantly.

"Of course I will," Jack replied.

The Mayors head spun around, and he grinned. "Oh thank you, Jack, thank you! I knew you'd be able to help!"

"I'll need some time to think and come up with a plan," Jack said.

"Of course, Jack of course. Take all the time you need. Well, not all the time you need, because there's only 350 days left until Halloween," the Mayor said. Just then a clock struck twelve and the Mayor's head spun around again. "Oh my only 349 days left!" he said worriedly.

"Don't worry, Mayor. Leave it to me, I'll take care of everything," Jack said confidently and Zero barked his agreement.

xxx

Once they were done with their meeting the Mayor took Jack on a tour of Halloweentown. Even though it was after midnight there were a lot of people (creatures?) moving about. Jack saw a tall zombie looking guy wearing tattered overalls. He had an axe lodged in his skull and Jack winced at the thought. The Mayor waved at him and the zombie guy waved back.

"That's Bubba, the town behemoth," the Mayor said and Jack waved at him, too.

Bubba waved back. The Mayor pointed out places of interest. There was a cat shaped building, which the Mayor said belonged to the witches. There were cottages that belonged to the ghouls. The Mayor spoke rapidly, pointing out the buildings and who they belonged to. When the finally reached the edge of town Jacks head was spinning from trying to remember everything the Mayor had told him. It had, Jack thought, been a very long day.

"And this is the residence of Dr. Finkelstein," the Mayor said, pointing out yet another odd-looking building. It had a tower with a large round top and barred windows. "He's our resident mad scientist," the Mayor added in a hushed whisper. "He does all kinds of experiments."

"What kind of experiments?" Jack asked.

There was a pause. "Well, I don't really know. Scientific kinds of experiments."

"Oh," Jack said, following the Mayor as he kept walking.

"And this, this is where you will live," the Mayor said, coming to a stop and waving his hand triumphantly.

Jack stared up at the building, certain that at any moment it was going to come crashing down on their heads.

But Jack was beginning to realize that looks in Halloweenland could be deceiving. As ramshackle as the buildings looked, they were obviously a lot more stable than they seemed.

The Mayor was looking expectantly at Jack, so he gave a big grin, a hearty laugh and said, "It's perfect!"

And it was perfect, perfect for a skeleton man. It was just taking some getting used to, the fact that he was a skeleton.

The house was impossibly tall and impossibly thin. The house part was a tower on top of a spindly base that rose several stories off the ground. Jack stared up at it in amazement.

"You don't mind if I don't go up with you, do you?" the Mayor asked.

"Oh, no, not at all," Jack replied.

"I think you'll find everything you need. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to call," the Mayor said. "Now, I'll be waiting for your Halloween ideas."

"Of course, and thanks," Jack said.

"Any time, my boy, any time," the Mayor replied and hustled off down the street back towards Town Square. He had a new spring in his steps as he thought of Jack Skellington and wondered if maybe, just maybe, Jack would be the one to help them save Halloween.

Jack looked over at Zero, who was regarding their new home speculatively. "Well, Zero. Shall we go see our new home?"

Zero barked happily and followed Jack as he climbed the long and winding flight of stairs that led to their new home.


	10. Jack's Place

**Here it is, the chapter that got lost. I think the story makes more sense with this chapter added in!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Jack or Sally. But I do own a Jack wallet. :)

Jack surveyed the bedroom. Like everything else around Halloweentown, it was dark and dingy. Cobwebs filled the corners and Jack saw that he shared his home with more than one spider. It was cozy enough, in its own spooky way. There was a bed with posts shaped like cats, a fireplace, a desk and a large chalkboard. There was another electric chair, which was sitting next to a couch that was made of black bat-patterned material. The windows were broken and the air was chilly.

"Well, what do you think, Zero?" Jack asked. The dog looked around the room and gave a happy bark.

"Yeah, it's a lot like home at Halloween, isn't it?" Jack said as he sat gingerly down on the bed and was pleasantly surprised to find that the bed was quite comfy.

Jack's memories of home, of his life in the Real World, were fading. He could remember certain things clearly, but there was much that seemed to be evading him. Jack yawned so wide it felt like his jaw was going to fall off.

Without even bothering to take off his shoes, Jack lay back on the black comforter. He had barely enough time to wonder what had happened to Sally before sleep over took him.

Xxx

Bright and early the next morning, far too bright and early for Jack's taste, he was awakened by the sound of a rooster crowing nearby.

Jack sat up and gazed sleepily around the room. It only took him a minute to remember everything that had happened.

He had half wondered if it had all been a dream, something brought on by stress or maybe from indigestion. But he was starting to accept the fact that it hadn't been a dream. He really was dead. He really was a skeleton. And he really was living in Halloweentown.

As much as Jack wanted to just roll over and go back to sleep he knew he had a lot to do. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, narrowly missing stepping on a large black widow spider that was strolling across the floor.

"Sorry about that," Jack said absently to the spider.

Zero, who had found an old, tattered doggie bed tucked in a corner, was still sleeping. His nose didn't glow while he was asleep, Jack noticed.

Stretching his long, bony arms, Jack yawned again and walked into the kitchen. He opened a cupboard, not knowing what he would find.

Not surprisingly, the cupboard was bare, except for a spider or two.

Jack turned to the fridge and opened it.

Nothing.

Jack shook his head. The first order of business would be to find something to eat. He vaguely remembered the Mayor saying something about a market in town, so Jack checked his pockets and found more of the Halloweentown money. It seemed his Real World money had converted to Halloweenland money when he had been….transformed.

He called Zero, who awoke, jack o'lantern nose shining brightly. He went down the long flight of stairs, Zero close behind.

Jack walked along the cobblestone street. Everywhere he went he was greeted with cheerful hello's and waves. It seemed everyone in town knew who he was. Word had obviously traveled fast through Halloweentown.

After wandering through town once Jack found the market, a dark little building tucked into an alleyway. He opened the heavy wood door and a bell over his head, which was shaped like a ghost, gave an eerie jingle.

The store was filled with row after row of low shelves, filled with an odd assortment of things. One side contained what looked like herbs and lots of jars. He peered at the tattered label on a black jar. "Flies wings," Jack murmured. "Hmmm. Frogs breath. Dragon fire."

Jack was confused until he looked up and saw a dusty wooden sign that read 'Spell Ingredients.'

The market was like something out of a kid's nightmare. There were things Jack vaguely recognized, but they didn't seem to be exactly right.

There was a cereal aisle. "Skullios?" Jack said, his bony brow furrowing.. "Snail Loops? Frosted Flies?"

He moved to the next aisle. There were pickled eyes, a little tin that read 'Vienna Finger Sausages.'

He wondered at first if this was the Mayor's idea of a joke. But as he browsed the shelves several creatures came in and filled their baskets. He even saw a zombie buy a bag of brain chips and begin eating them before he was even out of the store.

His appetite was pretty well gone by then, so he bought a box of dog treats for Zero and a package of fish skeletons, which was one of the least disgusting things in the store. He just hoped that in time he would acquire a taste for Frosted Flies or Dented Moore Tongue Stew.

His purchases made (he was rung up by a headless corpse that somehow managed to scan his items, put them in a bag and make change), Jack headed back through town. He wanted to get to work on his Halloween plans, but he also wanted to find Sally, but he wasn't sure where to start. He didn't know anyone else and although none of the citizens of Halloweentown had been anything but nice to him, he was still a little uneasy around them.

Just as he was about to give up and go back home two things happened. First of all, he saw two figures coming down the hill from the direction of his house. One seemed to be in a wheelchair, which was being pushed by a tall, familiar red yarn-haired figure. Sally.

Jack was about to go to say hi when he was clapped on the back. He managed not to jump and turned around to see the Mayor smiling pleasantly at him.

"Jack Skellington, good to see you!" he said, shaking Jack's hands heartily.

"Oh, hello Mayor," Jack said.

"You found the market, I see. They do have a great variety, don't they? Horrible stuff they have."

"Oh, yeah, horrible," Jack said weakly, knowing he didn't mean it quite the same way the Mayor did. Jack glanced over to see Sally, still pushing the figure in the wheelchair. She kept her head down, not looking at Jack, even though he was sure she saw him. She held the door to the market open, and the guy in the wheelchair went through. Sally followed him, the door closing behind her with a thump.

The Mayor motioned for Jack to lean over, so he did.

"That's Dr. Finkelstein," the Mayor whispered. "The mad scientist. And you already met Sally."

"Yeah," Jack said.

He was about to ask what they were doing together when the Mayor said, "They're your closest neighbors."

"They both live there, in that place you showed me?" Jack asked.

"Of course," the Mayor said, looking at Jack like it should have been obvious. Jack's heart sank to somewhere in the vicinity of his bony knees.

The Mayor went to say something else when he was hit in the back of the head with a rock. He whirled around, head spinning, to face three small children peeking out from behind the fountain. They were laughing maniacally. From what Jack could see, they were wearing Halloween costumes. There were two boys and a girl. One of the boys was a skeleton, one was a devil and the girl was a witch.

The Mayor groaned, his worried face drawn into a frown. Jack wasn't quite sure, but he almost thought he saw fear in the Mayor's eyes.

But why would the Mayor possible be afraid of three small trick-or-treaters?


	11. Lock, Shock and Barrel

**A/N:** Thank you thank you thank you to: skeletondoll, hyper monkey, Irish Tomboy6 and ladybirdbuzz1 for your wonderful reviews! I really appreciate your comments! You guys keep me motivated! :)

In this chapter we find out a little bit more about the Pumpkin King and Jack meets the Trick-or-Treaters for the first time. As usual, all reviews are GREATLY appreciated!

**Disclaimer:** I still do not own NBC, dang it.

Jack watched the three kids. They were laughing hysterically. One of them, the devil, picked up another rock and threw it, pegging the Mayor's hat and knocking it to the ground. Jack was shocked. The little brats. That was the _Mayor_ they were throwing rocks at. Jack waited for the Mayor to do something, but all he did is pick up his hat and plunk it back onto his head.

"Well, Jack, nice talking to you. Time for me to get back to the office. Work to do, you know," the Mayor said, edging away from the fountain and the three kids. His face was worried, his eyes darting in the direction of the fountain.

Jack saw that he was right. The Mayor _was_ afraid of the three kids.

"Who are those kids?" Jack asked.

"Oh. That's Lock, Shock and Barrel," the Mayor said simply, continuing to edge away. Jack turned to face him.

"But why…" he began, when he was suddenly hit in the back of the head by a rock, which then thumped to the ground at his feet.

Jack stood there for a minute. The Mayor froze, watching Jack, whose face was transforming right before his eyes.

Jack narrowed his eyes and turned slowly to face the three kids. They were howling with laughter, the two boys doubled over while the girl clapped her hands over her mouth.

Jack took a step towards them. The girl looked up at Jack, saw the look on his skeletal face and froze.

"Uh," she said, kicking the devil kid in the leg. "Uh."

The devil kid kicked her back. "What was that for?"

"Uh," the girl said again, pointing towards Jack, who was walking slowly towards them, his face drawn into the scariest scowl he could muster.

It was obviously working. The devil kid looked up, saw his face and shoved the skeleton kid who yelled, "Hey!" Then he looked up.

The three kids stared at Jack, who came to a halt in front of them, glaring down at them.

They looked up, identical looks of horror on their faces. "Who're you?" the devil kid asked, obviously the bravest of the bunch.

"I'm Jack Skellington," Jack said in an icy voice. "Who are _you_?"

"I'm Lock," the devil kid said. "That's Shock." He pointed at the girl. "And that's Barrel," he said, pointing towards the skeleton. Lock stared defiantly up at Jack and suddenly Jack was reminded of every time he'd been teased as a kid. Every time the bullies had shoved him, kicked him, and called him names.

He hadn't been able to do anything about it back then.

But by God, he could do something about it now.

"_DON'T YOU EVER THROW A ROCK AT ME AGAIN OR I WILL RIP OFF YOUR ARMS AND LEGS AND FEED THEM TO MY DOG!"_ Jack roared in the most ferocious voice he could muster. That, coupled with his fearsome scowl, bared teeth and his awesome height sent the three kids running. They hightailed it out of Town Square, heading towards the graveyard. Jack let out with a spine-tingling laugh as he watched the three kids' retreating backsides.

With his face back to normal Jack turned to face the Mayor, who was staring at him with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open. Jack grinned.

"Jack! That was…but did you see them? It was…that was…" the Mayor sputtered. "That was absolutely…HORRIBLE!" the Mayor exclaimed, his head whirling around to reveal a broad grin. "That face, that voice! Horrifying!"

"Thank you, Mayor," he said.

"I've never seen anything like it! It was…well, it was…amazing! Those are _Boogies_ Boys," the Mayor said, with emphasis on Boogie, whoever that was. "_Nothing_ scares those kids. But _you_ did!"

Feeling quite pleased with himself, Jack grinned, somewhat embarrassed by the Mayor's praise. "Who is Boogie?" he asked.

"Oogie Boogie, of course," the Mayor said in a hushed voice. Jack was about to remind him that he was new to Halloweentown and had no idea who (or what) Oogie Boogie was, but before he could he heard a chorus of voices from behind him.

"Did you see that? Jack scared off Boogie's boys!"

"Jack! He's a genius. He actually scared Lock, Shock and Barrel!"

"About time someone put those three in their place!"

The citizens of Halloweentown that were gathered around the fountain gave a big cheer, while Jack stood there, dumbfounded. Obviously scaring Boogie's boys was a big deal. Jack just wished he knew _why._

Jack looked up and saw Sally emerging from the market with the wheelchair bound Dr. Finkelstein. The doctor was short, with ducklike lips and thick, round glasses. His head was bald and there was what looked like a _hinge_ on the back of his skull. Jack raised a hand to wave at Sally, but she kept her head down and quickly pushed the wheelchair back up the hill. Jack watched them go and felt a sinking in his stomach that his guess was correct.

Sally and this Dr. Finkelstein were obviously a couple.

The Mayor, unaware of Jack's turmoil, smiled slyly at him. He was thinking that Jack Skellington really _was _the one who would save Halloween.

Jack didn't know it, of course, but the Mayor was _also_ thinking about Gabriel Devlin, a demon who had been the last Pumpkin King of Halloweentown.

As the Mayor, the Mayor was in charge of Halloweentown. But The Pumpkin King was the ruler of Halloween, the one that was in charge of the holiday. Gabriel Devlin had mysteriously disappeared several years back and there hadn't been anyone to replace him. There was no one that was up to the task. In the last years Halloween had fallen into a state of chaos. There was no organization, the citizens had been spooked by Gabriel's disappearance, and the Halloween spirit had just died.

It was time for a new ruler, a new Pumpkin King. And as the Mayor watched the tall, thin Jack Skellington, he had a feeling that he just might have found his guy…

((Thank you for reading, and don't forget to review! Thank you!))


	12. Failure

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own NBC, Tim Burton does. But I do have an awesome Jack face sticker on my car!

Sally emerged from the market, pushing Dr. Finkelstein's wheelchair. Unlike the rest of the citizens, Dr. Finkelstein had no real interest in Jack Skellington. He kept himself away from the public as much as possible, and a newcomer just wasn't a big deal to him.

With a surreptitious look towards the fountain, Sally saw a crowd gathered around Jack and the Mayor. She overheard Markus, the mummy, talking to Clark, the bat-boy. From what she could tell it seemed that Jack had managed to scare Boogies boys, Lock, Shock and Barrel, out of town. Why, that was nothing short of a miracle! Nothing scared those three. They were the biggest terrors of Halloweentown. They weren't content with the mischief they caused at Halloween in the Real World, so they spent their spare time terrorizing the citizens of Halloweentown the rest of the year.

Just then Jack looked her direction, so Sally quickly put her head back down and pushed Dr. Finkelstein's wheelchair through the crowd back towards his house. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jack raise his hand to wave at her. She quickly pushed the wheelchair away, trying to ignore the hurt and confused look she saw flash briefly across Jack's face.

He didn't understand (how could he?) the position that Sally was in. Dr Finkelstein was very strict. He had very specific rules regarding his "creation" as he loved to call Sally. She was to wait on him hand and foot, fix his meals, clean up his house, go with him whenever he told her to.

He wanted total devotion, but something had obviously gone wrong when he created her, because she had a mind of her own, much to the doctor's dismay.

It was a miserable existence, but Sally had no where else to go. None of the citizens of Halloweentown would aid her in escaping, they would all be too afraid of the repercussions from the mad scientist.

Not to mention that she just didn't fit in with anyone in Halloweentown. She had never gotten to participate in the Halloween celebrations because Dr. Finkelstein said it was all 'too exciting' for her. She had managed, this year, to escape in time to see the annual Halloween Parade as the citizen's returned from the Real World.

Sally didn't understand Halloween or what all of the fuss was about.

By then they had reached Dr. Finkelstein's house. They went inside and the doctor told her to put the groceries away. He was going to his lab and he didn't want to be disturbed until it was time for supper.

"Yes, sir," Sally said dejectedly. She took the bags of groceries to the little kitchen and began putting them away. All the while she was thinking of Jack Skellington and dreaming of escape.

Xxx

Back at the tall house Jack now called home, Jack was also putting away his groceries and feeling dejected. It was silly, really. He had just met the girl, why was he so upset?

_Because you like her_, a gloating little voice in the back of his head stated.

"Oh shut up," Jack told himself disgustedly. It didn't matter what he thought about her, she was with the doctor.

Jack forced his mind away from the pretty rag doll and walked into the bedroom. Zero followed him. Jack stood in front of the chalkboard. He had things to do. He had to come up with a plan to help the citizens of Halloweentown. He couldn't sit around moping about Sally.

Zero settled himself in the shabby dog bed to take a nap. Jack stood in front of the blank chalkboard with a piece of chalk in his hand. He crossed his arms and thought. He scratched his chin and thought some more. He stood there, staring at the black board, trying to think of ideas to make Halloween scary and for the first time ever he couldn't think of a thing! Not one thing! Nothing that would stand out in a town full of the scariest creatures he could imagine, anyway.

Jack walked slowly over to the bed and slowly sank down onto the soft mattress.

He was going to fail. After everyone had been so excited about him, being from the Real World and all, he was going to fail.

Jack Skellington had _always_ been able to think of new and scary things for Halloween. He had _always_ had the scariest costume, the scariest decorations. And now, when he was in Halloweentown, all of his inspiration had apparently disappeared.

He would be humiliated in front of everyone.

The Mayor, who had put such store in Jack's ideas.

The other citizens, who had looked at him in awe because he was from the Real World.

And of course, Sally, who had brought him into Halloweentown, introduced him to its citizens and had thought that he would fit right in.

He heaved a sigh, feeling a sinking feeling in his stomach. He felt oddly like he had felt when he was a kid, like a total failure.

"Oh, Zero, what am I going to do?" Jack groaned, shaking his head.

Zero looked up, sleepy-eyed and gave a tired bark.

"There's got to be something," Jack murmured. "There has to be something I can do."

Jack tried to remember every great costume he had made. Which ones were the scariest?

He was determined to come up with something. He knew he had some time, since there was 349 days left until Halloween.

But he had a terrible feeling, deep in his bones that no matter how determined he was it wasn't going to matter. He was going to fail.

((thanks for reading and please review! thank you!))


	13. Eureka!

**A/N:** Hi everyone! Big thanks to: SideshowAly, bookfreak1317 and RoastingsmoresOnAlicesFire for your reviews! I appreciate them (and so do the muses!)

**Disclaimer:** I still do not own NBC, and Tim Burton still does….

Jack stayed holed up in his room in the top of the tower for the next week. He refused to show his face in town until he had some sort of plan. And if he couldn't come up with a plan? Well, he refused to think about that.

He walked around in a daze. It seemed the harder he tried to come up with a plan, the blanker his mind got. He was sure that eventually he'd stop thinking altogether and just be an empty skeleton shell.

Zero tried to cheer him up. He'd jump around, barking, trying to get Jack to play with him, but Jack was too stressed and worried to pay attention to the little ghost dog. He'd wave him away and Zero would go back to his bed.

A few times visitors had arrived at his tall house, ringing the doorbell. The doorbell sounded like a scream and the first time it happened Jack almost fell off his chair. Jack hid in his tower room, hoping they'd think he wasn't at home. He couldn't see anyone, not until he had some ideas.

"There's got to be something I'm missing," Jack muttered as he paced his room. "It's probably something so obvious it's laughable. But what?"

He passed by an ornate mirror whose frame was adorned with wickedly grinning devils. His reflection was enough to scare him. He looked exhausted. Strange as it was, considering that he was a skeleton, he had circles under his eyes from his lack of sleep. He hadn't been able to eat, either, and if he hadn't already been a skeleton, he was sure he would've been thinner.

The stress was going to kill him. Or it would've, had he not already been dead.

Jack paused in front of the window. His window gave a perfect view of Dr. Finkelstein's house. Though he'd spent a lot of hours in front of his window, looking out at Halloweentown and hoping for inspiration to strike, he had never seen the wheelchair-bound doctor, or the pretty rag doll girl.

It was just one more thing to bother him.

He stopped pacing and went to stand once more in front of the chalkboard. He took a piece of chalk and began writing.

_Halloween-scary. _

_Scary-?_

_?-monsters_

_?-nightmares_

_?-fears_

Okay. Now he had that down. So how did he come up with something to scare kids in the Real World? Kids had become jaded. They didn't believe in such things as monsters and goblins anymore. It was all just stories, make-believe.

When he had been a kid there were still people that believed in ghosts and monsters and such. But as the years had gone by fewer and fewer people had believed. The Mayor had said the citizens of Halloweentown had become lazy and unmotivated. And as that had happened, people in the Real World had stopped believing. Parents had stopped threatening their kids with stories of goblins and ghouls.

_Wait a minute, wait a minute,_ Jack thought. Parents had stopped threatening kids with ghosts and goblins. So the parents no longer believed in Halloween creatures.

Jack started to get excited. He began scribbling on the chalkboard.

_Parents=what kids believe._

_Parents=don't believe in Halloween anymore._

_Parents not believing in Halloween=kids not being scared._

_Parents believing in Halloween=scared kids & scared parents._

_Scared kids + scared parents=Halloween getting its reputation back!_

"Eureka!" Jack shouted. "I think I've got it, Zero! I really do!"

Zero woke up with a start and floated over to Jack, who patted him on the head. Zero did a couple of somersaults, happy to see his master excited.

He gave a wicked laugh and began scribbling frantically on the chalkboard.

Xxx

Back at Dr. Finkelstein's, Sally had been unable to escape for a whole week. The doctor had taken away her rope, so she had no means to escape. She stared longingly out her window at the tall spindly house where Jack Skellington was living. Sally had overheard the Mayor talking to Dr. Finkelstein about Jack. The Mayor thought Jack could be the next Pumpkin King. Dr. Finkelstein said he didn't care. He had 'more important things to worry about', or so he said.

Sally had darted back up to her room when she heard that.

The old Pumpkin King had disappeared long before Dr. Finkelstein had created her. It was kind of a legend around Halloweentown.

Gabriel Devlin had been unarguably the scariest creature in all of Halloweentown. He was a demon that knew exactly how to scare people the most. Then, in the midst of his prime, he had gone to the Real World on a Halloween long ago, never to be heard from again. He hadn't returned for the Halloween parade. The entire population of Halloweentown had gone to search for him, but they had never found him, not a trace.

After that, everyone was too nervous about what had happened to Gabriel to want to be the next Pumpkin King. The position that had been the most sought-after in all of Halloweentown had become the most feared. No one would take it, the Mayor, who was too nervous to force anyone, had retired the position until someone 'worthy' came along.

Now it seemed the unsuspecting Jack Skellington was the target to be the next Pumpkin King.

Sally stared at the tall house. Faint lights were glowing behind the dark curtains.

There were rumors around Halloweentown that someone (or something) didn't want there to be a Pumpkin King. And that person (or thing) was the one responsible for Gabriel Devlin's disappearance.

Which meant that the next Pumpkin King was in just as much danger of disappearing.

And Jack didn't know anything about it.

He was unsuspecting, unaware. And no doubt he would accept the offer of the Pumpkin King, especially after the Mayor (who though he seemed nervous and unassuming was really quite clever) got finished telling him what an honor it was.

Sally had to warn Jack, somehow.

And while Jack was formulating his plan for Halloween, Sally formulated her plan…for escape.

((like it? hate it? Please review and let me know!))


	14. Plans and Nightshade

**Disclaimer:** Nope, I do not own NBC. Yup, Tim Burton does.

x x x x x x x x x x

Jack was finally satisfied with his plan. He had written it, rewritten it, and he was finally sure that it was perfect.

It had taken him a week. Once he had figured out that the key to making Halloween scary again was through the adults of the real world, not the kids, it had taken him a week to perfect the plan.

It was a long week, and when he was finally finished he was exhausted. So was Zero, who had been his support through the whole process.

Now, with the finished plans tucked beneath his arm, Jack made his way through Halloweentown to find the Mayor.

He found the Mayor in Town Square, hurrying towards the City Building, where his office was located.

"Mister Mayor, Mister Mayor!" Jack called.

The Mayor turned around, his anxious face whirling around to a delighted smile at the sight of the tall skeleton man.

"Jack, how have you been? You've been quite scarce lately," the Mayor said, beaming.

"I know, I know. I've been busy with my plans."

The Mayor stopped in his tracks. "Your plans?"

"Yes, my plans for Halloween. I think I've got something!" Jack said.

"Oh, Jack, that's great!" the Mayor said.

"Can we get together, so I can tell you about it?"

The Mayor shook his head and, still smiling, said, "Oh, no. I trust you, Jack. I'll call a Town Meeting for tomorrow and you can tell everyone!"

Jack's eyes widened. "Tell everyone? Shouldn't I tell you first?"

"No, no. I have faith in you, my boy. You'll do fine. I'll make the meeting for noon. I'll see you in the auditorium. I've got to go, get things set up. See you tomorrow, Jack!" the Mayor said hurriedly and then rushed off towards his office, muttering excitedly under his breath.

Jack watched him go, mouth hanging open.

"Well, Zero," Jack said. "I guess tomorrow we'll know what the citizens of Halloweentown think of my plan."

Jack didn't know whether to be nervous or excited.

So he was both.

Xxx

"Sally! Where is my lunch? You wretched girl, you can't get anything right! I told you I wanted to eat at NOON!"

Sally cringed at the sound of the doctor's voice, coming from somewhere above, in his lab.

Sally was in the kitchen, making a batch of soup.

A very _special_ batch of soup.

She had thought and thought and couldn't think of a way to escape. She couldn't do anything without her rope, and Dr. Finkelstein had hidden all of the rope in the lab.

So Sally was going to poison Dr. Finkelstein.

She was making a special Eye of Newt soup, with an added ingredient of Deadly Nightshade.

It wouldn't kill the old man, unfortunately. He had a resistance to poison, which she had found out when a shady man he was doing some kind of shady business with had tried to poison him with arsenic.

The old man had passed out cold for a whole day. When he came to he had been furious, but none the worse for wear for the poisoning. He had told Sally that he had a natural resistance to poison and that the worst thing it would do to him was knock him out.

She had been wary of trying to poison the old man. Once she did it he would know and probably kill her for it. He was always threatening to 'uncreate' her. If she poisoned him, she could never come back, he'd never trust her after that.

But she was desperate now. She had to warn Jack about what the Mayor was going to propose to him. She couldn't let him become the next Pumpkin King, not without warning him first.

Which is why Sally was tossing Deadly Nightshade into the Eye of Newt soup.

The Deadly Nightshade hit the soup with a hiss, tossing up a stream of smoke that formed into a skull and crossbones.

Sally waved her hand over the soup, brushing away the vapory skull.

She quickly ladled the soup into a bowl and hurried to the lab.

"Here's your lunch," she said as brightly as she could. She set the bowl in front of the doctor, who got a spoonful and put it to his lips.

Just as he was about to take a sip he sniffed, then threw the spoon across the room.

"Sally! You wretched girl, you were going to poison me!" he roared. "I can smell the Deadly Nightshade!"

Sally backed up, eyes wide with fear.

"After all I've done for you. I created you and I can uncreate you!" he yelled.

He wheeled over to where Sally stood, frozen. He took her by the arm and led her to her room. He threw her in.

"I think you need some time to think, Sally," he said. "I am your creator, your master! You are my servant. I think it's high time you understood that and acted accordingly. You can just stay in there until you decide to behave yourself."

He slammed the door shut and locked it.

Sally sat on her bed, shaking. Not with fear of the doctor, but with fear for Jack Skellington. The Mayor had come by to tell the doctor that there was a town meeting the next day. Sally had a sinking feeling that she knew what was going to be announced

She was already formulating a new plan. Even though she had tried to poison him, the doctor hadn't uncreated her. Which led her to believe that he wouldn't. Maybe he wasn't as evil as she had thought.

She would try to poison him again. Only the next time it would work.

The next time she would cover up the scent of the Deadly Nightshade.

((well, what did you think? please review and let me know! Thank you!))


	15. Town Meeting

**Thanks to bookfreak1317 and magyk-girl200 for your awesome reviews! They are very much appreciated!**

**Disclaimer:** Nope, I do not own NBC, Tim Burton (the amazing) does. But I do own an awesome talking Jack Skellington Doll that says "Eureka!" and "Merry Christmas everyone!" and laughs insanely…. :)

**x x x x x x x **

Jack stood nervously backstage in the auditorium where the Town Meeting was being held. He was wringing his hands and then he began pacing. He sure hoped this bright idea of his was as good as he had first thought. If not, there was a whole audience of creeps, ghouls and monsters that he was sure would not be hesitant in showing him their displeasure.

The Mayor came by, patted Jack enthusiastically on the shoulder and went onstage. He took his place at the podium, clearing his throat a couple of times in the microphone to get the audience's attention. A spotlight came on and shone on the podium and the Mayor.

"Citizens of Halloweentown!" the Mayor said loudly and the last murmurs from the audience were silenced. "I have an announcement. Our newest resident, Jack Skellington, has come up with an idea to save Halloween!"

The Mayor paused and there was a roar of applause and cheers from the audience. Jack was starting to feel faint.

"Now, I will turn the stage over to him to explain his plan. Here he is, Jack Skellington!" the Mayor said, grinning broadly and stepping aside.

Jack stood frozen until Zero nudged his arm. Jack looked down at Zero. "Well, boy, here goes nothing," he whispered, then forced his features into a broad, confident grin as he walked onstage to the loud cheers and applause of the audience.

"Thank you, thank you!" Jack said, grinning. The audience quieted down, and, crossing his fingers behind his back for luck, he began to speak.

"Halloween has lost its reputation," he began dramatically. There were murmurs from the audience. "Halloween has become a day for kids to dress in costumes and get candy, for adults to go to fancy parties."

Again there was more murmuring from the crowd. "Somewhere along the way people stopped believing in Halloween, in ghosts and goblins and ghouls. Consequently, as they have stopped believing their children have stopped believing and now ghosts and monsters are just stories, myths."

Jack paused and surveyed the audience. They seemed intrigued, whispering back and forth. Gathering up a confidence he didn't really feel, Jack stood as straight and tall as he could and said, "SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!" in the most ferocious voice he could muster.

There was a roar of applause from the audience and the Mayor, who had taken a seat on the front row, looked around, a self-satisfied look on his manically happy face.

"I have a plan, a plan to get Halloween its reputation back!" Jack said and there was another roar of applause.

Jack lowered his voice and said dramatically, "The plan is this: We will focus on scaring the adults in the Real World!"

"The adults?" someone said. "But we've always scared the children!" and there were murmurs of agreement from the crowd.

"Yes, yes. I know. But that doesn't work anymore," Jack said. "Which means we have to try something different. And you see, if we can scare the adults, it's a given that the kids will be scared. If the parents believe, the children believe."

There was a long silence in which the audience seemed to be thinking things over.

"You mean you would want me to hide under the _parent's_ beds?"

Jack looked up to see a dark, shadowy monster with glowing red eyes and sharp white teeth. He looked skeptical.

"Yes, exactly!" Jack said enthusiastically.

"You'd want me to rip off my face in front of an adult?" asked the unicycle-riding clown.

"You want us to drink the blood of adults?" asked one of the vampires.

There was a roar of noise as everyone began talking at once.

Jack started to get the feeling he was losing his control over the meeting and the crowd. He looked up, wondering how things had gone so wrong. From the back of the room he caught a glimpse of long red hair. It was Sally! She was sneaking into the auditorium, looking quite nervous. When she saw Jack she smiled tentatively and Jack smiled back

For some reason, that was all it took for him to get his confidence back. Even the sight of the Mayor's worried face only gave him a moment's pause.

"Listen!" Jack roared and the crowd quieted. "Who among you has lived in the Real World recently?"

As he had expected, no one answered. "I know my idea seems crazy, but I really believe it will work. After all, what have you got to lose? Don't you want Halloween to get its reputation back? Don't you want people to be scared again?" Jack walked over to the blackboard that was at the front of the stage, covered with a black sheet. He pulled off the sheet, revealing a blackboard full of his ideas. He explained a few, told the citizens of Halloweentown that everyone would have a job, that they would spend the rest of the time until next Halloween perfecting the plan, practicing their terror. Everyone seemed intrigued, even excited. Jack concluded his speech and there was a thunder of applause and Jack sighed in relief. They were willing to try his idea. Now, Jack just hoped it worked as well as he thought it would.

The Mayor stood then, clapping his hands, his face back to the manic grin. He stood next to Jack and clapped him on the shoulder. "Nice work," he whispered. Then he stepped up to the microphone.

"Let's hear it for Jack!" the Mayor said and the audience cheered some more. "You heard Jack. We will begin assignments tomorrow and for the next 333 days we will practice, practice, practice! THIS WILL BE THE WORST HALLOWEEN EVER!" the Mayor cried and the audience jumped to their feet, cheering.

Jack snuck offstage while everyone was cheering. He had seen Sally duck back out of the auditorium at the same time that the wheelchair-bound Dr. Finkelstein had entered from a side door. The doctor had an icepack on his head and murder in his eyes.

Jack exited out a side door and caught a glimpse of Sally darting through town, headed toward the graveyard. With one last glance at the auditorium Jack sprinted after her, determined to talk to the pretty rag doll.

((Well? What did you think? Please please please review and let me know!))


	16. Jack & Sally

**Disclaimer:** Nope, I still do not own NBC.

Sally saw Dr. Finkelstein come in the side door of the auditorium. He had an icepack on his head and his expression was murderous. The Deadly Nightshade she had slipped into his soup had worn off quicker than she had expected. She obviously didn't put in enough, but her supply was running low. She had covered the smell of the Nightshade with catsbreath (the fishy odor covered up anything) and the doctor had eaten heartily and passed out cold on his third spoonful.

Unfortunately the doctor had wanted a late supper and the Town Meeting had already started by the time she had made it to the auditorium. She'd snuck in the back and caught Jack Skellington's eye. He was explaining his plan to the people of Halloweentown, but they were being quite skeptical. Sally thought his idea was a good one. Though she had never participated in the holiday, she had heard other's talk about it, knew that Halloween wasn't the same as it used to be, way before she had been created.

As soon as she had seen the doctor Sally had ducked back out of the auditorium before he saw her and dragged her back to his house.

She sighed heavily as she walked slowly towards the graveyard. She had to replenish her store of Deadly Nightshade. She hadn't been able to talk to Jack, to warn him about the Pumpkin King. But the Mayor hadn't said anything about it, so maybe he wouldn't.

Still, she would have felt better if she had been able to talk to him.

Sally stopped in front of the gate that led out of Halloweentown. The gate's eyes were shut and it was snoring lightly so Sally slipped nimbly through the bars when the gate didn't rise.

As she walked along the path that led to the graveyard and Spiral Hill, Isis darted from behind a bush and began following her, meowing plaintively. Sally paused to scratch the cat behind its ears and then continued walking towards her garden in the graveyard.

When she reached the graveyard she quickly walked along the path that led to the edge of the graveyard, where she had planted her garden. She kneeled down on the soft soil and began picking the plants. She was lost in thought and didn't hear the light footsteps approaching. It wasn't until she heard a bark that she looked up to see Jack Skellington standing beside her, looking quite nervous and not at all the confident, intimidating figure he had made during the Town Meeting.

"H-hi," Sally said. Isis had darted away when she had heard Zero, but the little ghost dog didn't chase the cat, merely barked again and floated over to Sally, who patted his head.

"Hi, Sally," Jack said, looking extremely awkward.

There was a lengthy pause, then Jack said, "So what are you doing?"

Sally brightened slightly. "Oh, this is my garden. I'm just gathering some plants to replenish my supplies."

Jack glanced doubtfully at the little signs that marked the plants. "Aren't those all….poisonous?" Jack asked.

Sally looked only mildly surprised. "Yes, of course they are."

Jack, nonplussed, said, "Oh."

There was another lengthy pause and then, at once, Jack said, "Can I sit down?" at the same time Sally said, "Do you want to have a seat?"

They both laughed and the tension dissipated.

Jack settled down on the ground next to Sally, who continued to gather her plants, glancing out of the corner of her eye every so often at him.

"So how do you like Halloweentown so far?" Sally asked.

"I like it," Jack replied. "It's very….different from my old life."

"Really?" Sally asked. "What is it like to live in the Real World? I've never been there."

Jack looked thoughtful. "You know, I don't really remember that much about it," Jack said. "I try to remember, but then I can't. It's weird."

Sally nodded. "I know why you can't remember," she said.

"Really? Why?" Jack asked, intrigued.

"Because once you come to Halloweenland you leave your old life behind. So your memories of your old life start to fade until soon all you remember is your life here."

Jack looked at her in disbelief. "You mean soon I won't remember anything of my old life? Of who I am?"

Sally looked uncomfortable. "I really don't know. I don't know how much you'll forget."

"What about you? Do you remember your old life?" Jack asked.

Now Sally looked_ extremely_ uncomfortable. Abruptly she stood and brushed her hands off. She picked up her basket and started to walk away from Jack, towards the spirally hill.

Jack followed her. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" he asked.

Sally didn't answer until they were at the top of the hill. She set her basket down and then she looked at Jack. She wasn't sure what to tell him. She wasn't a normal girl, she was a creation. _Dr. Finkelstein's_ creation. Would Jack even want anything to do with her when he knew that?

"I didn't have a life before Halloweentown," Sally said.

"Oh, so you're an old resident? You were born here?" Jack asked.

Sally sighed and folded her arms. "Well, no. Not exactly."

Jack was completely lost. "I don't understand."

"Dr. Finkelstein…" she started, then lost her nerve.

"Dr. Finkelstein? Is he…is he your husband?" Jack asked cautiously.

"My husband? Heavens no!" Sally exclaimed, looking shocked.

Jack felt a rush of relief flow through him at her words. "Really?"

"Really," Sally stated firmly. "He's, well… You know he's an inventor right?"

"Yes," Jack replied, mystified.

"Well," Sally said, gathering her nerve. _Here goes nothing,_ she thought. "I'm one of Dr. Finkelstein's creations."

Jack digested that. "You mean, he _made_ you?" he asked, astounded.

"Yes," Sally said softly.

"Huh," Jack said thoughtfully. No wonder she seemed attached to him. He had created her, no doubt he felt like he owned her. The thought made Jack mad, but he knew immediately there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it.

Then he noticed the look on Sally's face. She looked ashamed. Jack walked over to her and put a bony hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Sally. There's nothing wrong with that." He wanted to ask her more about it, but he didn't want to upset her, so he decided it could wait. He'd ask her later.

She looked up at him hopefully. "Really?"

"Of course," he said. He gave her a lopsided smile. "When you think about it, who _isn't_ a creation of some sort?"

Sally smiled. "Thanks, Jack," she said.

Jack just smiled back at her, thinking about how pretty she was.

"So, what is this hill called?" Jack asked after a minute. "Does it have a name?"

"It's just called Spiral Hill," Sally said with a little shrug.

Jack walked to the edge and the hill slowly un-spiraled. This time he was expecting it and didn't almost fall. Jack walked slowly down the little ramp, Sally and Zero following behind. They stepped off the hill and it wound back up. Jack watched it, fascinated. "That's amazing," he stated.

Jack and Sally walked through the pumpkin patch. They didn't talk, but the silence was comfortable. Each was lost in their own thoughts.

Sally was trying to decide what to tell him about the Pumpkin King. She didn't want to sound like she was freaking out about nothing, but she also wanted to tell him the truth before the Mayor decided to talk to him.

Jack was thinking about Sally and all she had told him. Mostly he was thinking about the fact that the longer he was in Halloweentown the less he would remember about his life in the Real World. The thought made him sad, even though when he had been alive he had taken his life for granted.

He wouldn't do that again, he thought. He would make the most of his new life here in Halloweentown. He finally felt like he fit in. It was a great feeling.

((Okay, I'm going to beg shamelessly for reviews now! Please please review! Let me know what you think, especially about the Pumpkin King and Oogie!))


	17. Sally's Warning

**A/N: **This is kind of a short chapter, but it didn't really fit in well with the one before or after, so forgive me. :)

Big thanks to Chris, Daphne and Sideshowaly for your reviews.

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Jack, Sally or Oogie.

As they ambled through the pumpkin patch Sally tried to think of what to tell Jack. She was just about to say something when Jack stopped in mid-stride. "Who lives there?" he asked.

Sally looked up to where he was pointing. It was a ramshackle tree house that was in even worse shape than the rest of the buildings in Halloweentown.

Sally shuddered slightly when she realized how far they had walked. "That's where Boogie's Boys live," Sally said in hushed tones.

"Boogie's Boys? You mean those three kids?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Sally replied and started to walk away from the tree house.

"Wait a minute. Why is everyone so afraid of those three little kids? And who or what is Oogie Boogie? I asked the Mayor but he didn't answer me."

Sally glanced over at the tree house. "I'll tell you what I know, but we should start back to town."

Jack obediently followed Sally back in the direction of town. When they reached the graveyard Sally led Jack to a rusty bench that sat beneath a dead, leafless tree. They sat down, Zero at their feet gnawing on a stick.

"So, who is Oogie Boogie?" Jack asked when Sally didn't say anything.

Sally sighed heavily. "Oogie Boogie, well, he's the Boogie Man," she said.

"The Boogie Man?" Of course Jack recognized the name from Halloween in the Real World. He just wasn't sure exactly _what _the Boogie Man was, and what exactly he _did._

"Yes."

"What does a Boogie Man _do_, exactly?" Jack asked when it seemed Sally wasn't going to say anything more.

"The Boogie Man is supposed to give you nightmares."

Nightmares? Well, that didn't sound so bad. He had had some awful nightmares when he was a kid, and even when he was older, but nightmares weren't that bad. After all, you always woke up and the nightmare was gone.

"I don't understand. Who are Boogie's Boys? Why is everyone so afraid of them?" Jack asked. "And why haven't I seen this Oogie Boogie guy?" It just wasn't making sense to him that in a world full of vampires, ghouls and other monsters that everyone would be this intimidated by a guy that gave nightmares and three little kids.

Sally sighed again. This wasn't exactly how she wanted to go about things, but she didn't seem to have much choice in the matter.

"Oogie Boogie isn't welcome in Halloweentown," Sally said finally.

"Why?"

"Because Oogie thinks that Halloween should be about more than just scaring people," Sally replied.

"What does he think it should be about?"

"Death," Sally whispered. "He thinks that if people aren't scared to death, then they're really not scared. So the last Halloween when he was allowed to participate, he went around in the Real World scaring people to death. He gave them nightmares that killed them. When the Mayor and the Pumpkin King found out, they banned him from Halloweentown and Halloween celebrations. He was never allowed to participate in the holiday again."

Jack mulled over Sally's words. "Who is the Pumpkin King?" Jack asked.

"His name was Gabriel Devlin. He was a demon," Sally said.

"_Was_?" Jack repeated.

"Yes. He disappeared one Halloween and was never heard from again," said Sally.

"What do you think happened to him?" Jack asked.

"Well…no one really knows. But there are suspicions."

"Oogie Boogie?" Jack asked.

"There's no proof. But someone doesn't want there to be a Pumpkin King," Sally said.

Jack mulled over that. "And that's why there isn't a new Pumpkin King?"

"Well, sort of. No one wanted the title. So there hasn't been one since then."

"Huh," Jack said. "Interesting."

Sally gave Jack a sideways glance. He didn't look nearly worried enough. In fact, he looked thoughtful and speculative, not uneasy, as most people were when they found out about Oogie.

Then Sally realized something. Jack had no idea that the Mayor was most likely going to ask him to be the next Pumpkin King.

"Jack," Sally said hesitantly.

"Yes?" Jack asked, looking up.

"I think that the Mayor is going to ask you to be the next Pumpkin King," Sally said.

"What?" Jack said, surprised. "Me? Why?"

"I don't know. I just have a feeling," Sally said, leaving it at that. She didn't figure she needed to get into the fact that she could sometimes see the future.

"Oh, that won't happen," Jack said dismissively.

Sally sighed, seeing that Jack clearly didn't believe her. "Well, I just wanted to warn you. Be careful."

Jack gave a little laugh. "Oh, you worry too much, Sally. I'm new, why would the Mayor want _me_ to be the Pumpkin King?"

Jack wasn't expecting an answer and Sally knew it. But she couldn't help but think that the exact reason the Mayor would want him to be the Pumpkin King is because he was new, and didn't know any better.

((please please review and let me know what you think! Thank you!))


	18. The New King

Big thanks to: Chris, Daphne and Epoch95 for your reviews!

Chapter 18: The New King

XxXxXxXx

"I want Jack Skellington to be the Pumpkin King!"

The mayor was pacing around his office. It was the manic side that said that. He pounded his fist into his hand.

"But…we can't do that. What if he finds out about….What if someone tells him…" the worried face spun around.

"He won't find out about it. He can't! He's new! No one would _tell_ him. They're all too afraid," said the manic face. "He could be the one! The one to save Halloween, to bring the citizens of Halloweentown back to their former glory!" The manic face looked determined, and rubbed his hands together.

"But what if some thing happens to him?" said the worried face, wringing his hands. "After what happened to Gabriel Devlin…"

"No! Don't bring that up," said the manic face. He was forcing his smile now. Even the manic side was starting to feel worried.

"But…what if Oo…" the worried face started to say.

"Don't say his _name!_" hissed the manic face. "We don't have a choice. I am going to ask Jack Skellington to be the next Pumpkin King. He _will_ save Halloween. _He has to!"_ the Mayor said desperately.

For once it seemed both sides of the Mayor were in agreement.

They were both worried.

Xxx

Meanwhile back in his tower Jack was getting ready. Today was the day they were going to give everyone their Halloween assignments. He was excited to see what everyone thought of his ideas. He gathered up his book of notes and he and Zero walked to Town Square. Everyone he passed smiled and waved. The Undersea Gal popped up out of the fountain and batted her eyes at him.

"Hellooooo Jack," said with her most fetching smile.

"Hey, Gal! Good to see you," Jack said with a little wave, seemingly oblivious to her flirtations.

Disappointed, she slid back into the fountain.

Jack's mind was on other things. His plan. Sally. Halloween. Sally. No matter what, his thoughts just kept coming back around to the pretty little rag doll. He was relieved to know that she wasn't _married _to Dr. Finkelstein. But he was equal parts disappointed that she "belonged" to the mad scientist. He wondered if the Dr. would let him date her. He wondered if she would even _want_ to date him. She was so shy, it was hard to tell. He wondered if she would be at the meeting…

Such were his thoughts when he ran smack into the Mayor, who had just pulled up his little car and had gotten out to try to catch Jack before he went into Town Hall.

Jack's book of ideas went flying and both he and the Mayor ended up on their backsides on the cobblestone ground.

"Oh! Mr. Mayor, I'm sorry!" Jack said, flustered. He scrambled up and helped the Mayor to his feet, and then gathered his book. Zero tilted his head at Jack. He knew something was up with his master, but he just wasn't sure what.

"Oh, no, Jack my boy, it was completely my fault. I walked right in front of you!" the Mayor said, grinning as he rubbed his backside. "Listen, Jack, I was hoping we could talk before the meeting."

"Oh. Oh, sure," said Jack. He glanced at the skeleton face watch on his bony wrist. He didn't need to do much to set up, so he had time.

"Hop in the car, my boy," the Mayor said, motioning Jack to the tiny car.

Fortunately Jack was skinny. He barely managed to fold his long, skinny self into the car before the Mayor took off, leaving Zero in a cloud of exhaust. With a yap the little ghost dog flew after the car.

They pulled up in front of Town Hall and Jack followed the Mayor up to his office. Once again he sat in the Electric Chair. He was only slightly unnerved by the fact that he was getting used to such things.

"So, Jack. I had a little something I was hoping to run by you. Before the meeting. Heh, heh," the Mayor said. He still had a manic grin on his face, but he was trying mightily not to let Jack see how nervous he was.

"Okay, sure. What is it?" Jack said, just as Zero flew in through an open window. He gave the Mayor a dirty look before settling down at Jack's feet. Absently Jack reached down and scratched Zero's head. Jack's trusting nature made him entirely unprepared for what the Mayor said next.

"I have a proposal for you," the Mayor said. "You see, Jack. Halloweentown is in dire need of a Pumpkin King, and, my boy, YOU are perfect for the job."

Zero jumped up and yapped, remembering what Sally had said. Jack was startled and didn't know what to say. "Um. Erm. Pumpkin King you say?"

"Yes, yes. Halloweentown has been without a Pumpkin King for far too long!" the Mayor said, grinning.

"Oh?" Jack said. He was trying to think, trying to remember everything that Sally had told him. He wondered what the Mayor would tell him. "Why is that?"

The Mayor froze, eyes wide, mouth agape. "Well," he said, thinking fast, "There's just not been anyone up to the task. You know, we just need fresh blood. Erm. So to speak."

"Fresh blood, eh?"

"Heh, heh, heh!" The Mayor laughed, trying to cover up his nervousness. He was starting to sweat, and it was all he could do to keep his nervous side at bay. "It's just that you're from the _Real World_, Jack. You know what's what in the human world! You're the only one that can save Halloween! And as The Pumpkin King you will be the main man, the one everyone looks up to! Jack, you ARE The Pumpkin King!"

Something in the back of his mind told Jack that something was wrong, but he was just so flattered that he ignored it. He had spent his whole life trying to fit in, trying to feel like he wasn't an outcast. Now, for the first time ever, he had a chance to _be_ someone. And not just _anyone, The Pumpkin KING!_ Jack felt a grin spread slowly across his face. Jack Skellington, The Pumpkin King. Zero was floating next to his face, yapping, but Jack wasn't paying any attention.

"_I'll do it!" _Jack shouted, leaping out of his chair. "I WILL be The Pumpkin King!" He laughed his creepy skeleton laugh.

The Mayor wiped a hand across his sweaty brow and fell back into his chair with a sigh of relief. "Jack, my boy, this is great news!" he rubbed his hands together, thinking of what a boost this would be to the town, to the townspeople and their flailing Halloween spirits. "We'll announce it at the Town Meeting," the Mayor said. "And then we'll give everyone their assignments. It'll be great!"

Jack, riding on the high of the idea of being The Pumpkin King, jumped up from his seat. "Yes! Let's go!"

He gathered up his book of ideas, patted the worried Zero on the head, and followed the Mayor downstairs to the auditorium where the townsfolk were starting to gather. They were mumbling excitedly and the Mayor was ecstatic. It was the first time in _years_ that the townsfolk actually looked excited about anything.

When it was time for the meeting to start the Mayor climbed up onto the podium and cleared his throat a few times. When the townsfolk had quieted down he started to speak.

"Citizens of Halloweentown welcome!" he said, grinning manically. "Before I turn the meeting over to Jack, I have a very important announcement."

The audience murmured.

"As you all know, Halloween is not what it used to be. It used to be a time of terror and fright, of things that went bump in the night. But for the past several years, Halloween has been losing its scariness. The children in the Real World are becoming harder and harder to scare. Halloween has become a time for children to dress up and get candy. NOT a time for them to be scared. THIS HAS TO STOP! What will become of us if we don't have anyone to scare on Halloween?"

There was more mumbling in the audience, murmurs of agreement.

"How long has it been since children have been afraid of the dark? Since they cowered in terror of the monster in their closet or under their bed? TOO LONG!" said the Mayor, thumping his fist on the podium.

"The problem is that Halloweenland has been without a Pumpkin King for too long! Back in the days of fear and terror we had The Pumpkin King to look up to for guidance. It's time for us to take back Halloween!"

The crowd was excited now, murmuring and cheering.

"So, without further adieu, I give you ….Jack Skellington, The Pumpkin King!"

The crowd roared and cheered. A couple of hats (sometimes with head still attached) were tossed in the air. Jack stepped forward at the Mayor's urging and stood behind the podium. He was tempted to feel nervous, but pushed it back. He laughed his most scary, eerie laugh. The reaction of the crowd filled him with exhilaration.

"Citizens of Halloweentown! I am happy to accept the position of The Pumpkin King! I promise you that I will do everything that I can to put the fear back into Halloween! We will make this the best, the scariest, the most….HORRIBLE Halloween ever!"

The crowd roared again and Jack grinned. For the first time ever people were looking up to him! Gone were the days when kids picked on him. He scanned the grinning, cheering crowd. He felt great….until he saw Sally, standing at the back of the crowded room, hands clasped in front of her. He caught her eye. She looked a little bit scared, and a lot disappointed. Jack's heart sank to the vicinity of his bony feet as she looked down and then turned and walked quickly out of the auditorium.


End file.
